Import emails to Windows Live Mail from Outlook

My father in law insists on Windows Live Mail on his home PC. He is retiring from a job where all his mail lived in Outlook, exported as a PST.

WLM's import dialog lists nothing about PST. How do I get his work archive into WLM?

WLM never learned PST. Its import speaks EML based stores, so the path is PST to EML, then WLM's own import pointed at the EML directory tree.

1

Convert the PST to EML files with a converter such as SysTools PST Converter using the EML output. Keep the create folder hierarchy option on so each Outlook folder becomes a directory of .eml files.

2

On his PC open WLM and go to File, Import messages.

3

Choose Windows Mail as the format, this is the option that reads a directory tree of EML files, and browse to the converted folder.

4

WLM pulls everything under an Imported Folder entry in the folder pane. Drag folders into his Storage folders to arrange them permanently.

Said with affection for your father in law: WLM was discontinued in 2017 and receives no security fixes, and one day a Windows update will break it for good. The archive import above works today, but it may be worth planting the seed about Thunderbird, which imports the same EML tree, looks similar enough and is maintained. His archive converts once and reads in either.

Converted and imported, all his folders arrived intact and he is happy. The Thunderbird conversation is scheduled for a calmer day.